Seminar to shed light on art collecting

Collecting art has reached a younger audience.

The School of Fine Arts Gallery and the Friends of Art Collectors Group will play host to a Collecting Student and Faculty Art Seminar from 5 to 6:30 p.m. today. The seminar will address concerns related to buying and selling student and faculty artwork.

Betsy Stirratt, director of the SoFA Gallery and leader of today’s event, said during the years she has found that people are interested in purchasing student and faculty work.
“I thought this would make sense,” she said. “It educates collectors on aspects they might not have thought of.”

The seminar will cover the ethics of collecting student and faculty art. Discussion will include how to establish a market value for artwork and whether or not it is legitimate to buy out of studios rather than through galleries.

Stirratt said the ethical dilemma of cutting out the middle man – the gallery representative – is particularly pertinent when buying faculty artwork because they are more established in the commercial realm than students.

The event is open to all interested collectors, including students and faculty themselves.

“I want to know what to get and the appropriate way to get it,” said Chelsey Radabaugh, a third-year graduate student in the Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts.

Radabaugh said she began collecting work as an undergraduate, mainly by trading pieces with people she knew.


“You can trade if you’re friends with someone, but if you’re not it can be awkward sometimes,” she said.

While trading student art is popular between peers, older collectors also find the artwork appealing.

Stirratt said people tend to buy student artwork because they want to support students in their educational endeavors or because they are looking for a good deal.

“I understand that people want value in their art,” she said.

The seminar comes just one day after the opening of the “IU School of Fine Arts Student Shows: MFA Painting, Metals, Graphic Design, Ceramics and Textiles.”

Some graduate student work is on sale at the show, said Erin Goedtel, a first-year graduate student in the painting program.

“I don’t have a lot of money, but I just thought, ‘How cool,’” she said. “It’s an awesome opportunity. You can get a beautiful, large piece of artwork for a good price.”